Kin Blog

Here’s a little overview and guidance on social media.  If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask.

Why Create a Social Media Presence?

• Build brand awareness – tell your community what Kin is about
• Establish your club and educate your audience
• Connect with donors, community, potential members, and other Kin clubs
• Promote events and drive donations

 How?

• Take a few minutes and make a social media plan – channel, content ideas, post frequency
• You don’t need to be everywhere – pick 1 or 2 channels that make sense.  Facebook and Twitter are probably the best for club promotion. It’s better to do 1 well than 6 sporadically.  
• Promote your social media channels to those you want to follow you.  Put the links in newsletters, on event posters, and on your club’s website.
• Posting a few times a week is ideal.  Think about designating a member to handle club social media.
• Remember to check in on comments and messages your followers are leaving.  You want to make sure you are answering their questions.
• Use language that makes you sound like you, not a lawyer.
• Be truthful, and avoid engaging in negative conversations on your page.
• Be a good neighbour. Share relevant posts from other non-profits and community groups. Letting your followers know the local food bank needs or about a student fundraiser also serves the community.  And if you share others’ posts, they’ll likely return the favour. Also a good way to get new followers.   

Content Ideas

• Photos with descriptions – Add you own club photos.  Share photos from National’s page.
• Member profiles – Think about featuring a member on the first of every month. Show your community who’s involved in Kin and the diverse background of our members. 
• Local events – of course promote your own events, but also think about promoting non-kin community events.  It’s builds bridges with other organizations and may bring new followers.
• Good news about Kin – share your club’s successes, national kin news, and even good stuff happening with other Kin clubs.
• Links to your webpage, KinCanada.ca (Like the online magazine, bursary page, awards page, how to become a member, donation page…), to our charity partners (CF, MS, CBS, STARS, Special Olympics, Telemiracle…), and to interesting blogs.   
• Short videos.  30-90 seconds is ideal.
• Quotes and stats about volunteering and giving back.

Common Social Media Channels

Facebook is the largest social network. It allows users to foster relationships. National sees the most activity on our Facebook page. I suggest starting your club social media there. Check out what other clubs are posting and follow us at facebook.com/kincanada
Facebook tips: https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-media/12-pages-best-practices-for-media-companies/518053828230111
Twitter is the best channel if you’re looking to engage your audience with more frequent small talk and sound bites. Max 140 characters. Follow us @kincanada. Twitter tips: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2013/08/30/31-twitter-tips-how-to-use-twitter-tools-and-twitter-best-practices-for-business/
YouTube as channel gets over 1 billion visitors a month. People love video. You can show your personality in a video and link it to your website and other social media platforms.  KinCanada has our own channel.  Past President Lee Burry uses D7’s channel to showcase Kin through video interviews. 
Pinterest is a visual discovery tool you can use to find ideas on every themes – DIY, cooking, fashion, and quotes.  National uses Pinterest to share easy project ideas.  We have a page for National Day of Kindness.
Instagram is a photo app that apply artsy effects to photos.  You then can share and hashtag them. Find us at @KinCanada. Hashtag your Kin photos with #Kincanada #Kinettes #Kinsmen #Kinvention #NDK #servingthecommunitysgreatestneed. Hashtaging sorts photos so they’re easily searchable.
Linked In is not my first choice for a Kin Club. But it can be utilized to research businesses in your community. And putting volunteer experience on your personal profile is always good.
Blogs are great for longer stories.  You can have different club members write on different topics.

Non-Profit Social Media Success Stories:

Austin Dog Rescue was struggling as a non-profit. After establishing a social media presence in central Texas, adoptions went up 50% in 16 months. Now, 80% of their website traffic comes from links on their Facebook page.
Movember – Social media drove over 10 million visits to Movember.com during November last year, a 37% increase in web traffic over the previous year leading to a 26% increase in funds raised.  Check out Instagram for #movember.